The present invention relates to bicycle carriers and more particularly to a surrogate top tube used to facilitate mounting of bicycles to a vehicle-mounted carrier.
Bicycles are often transported between locations on mounts that attach to vehicles. In many cases, these mounts incorporate an arm or cradle that the top tube of a bicycle rests on or in to support the bicycle. However, women""s bicycles and many newer, non-traditional frames do not have a top tube. As a result, these types of bicycles cannot be directly mounted on many carriers.
In order to overcome the above difficulty, several different surrogate top tube designs have been developed. These devices have a yoke structure at each end of a telescoping tube. The yokes typically attach to the seat tube and the vertical tube of the handlebars. Unfortunately, existing designs suffer from a number of drawbacks. Some systems are relatively difficult to secure and include separate pieces that may easily be misplaced. Other systems, while easy to attach, do not provide a robust connection to the bicycle. Some designs are configured in a way that allow a user to incorrectly install them on a bicycle, such as between a seat tube and the horizontal members on the handlebars, rather than to the vertical member. As a result of mis-installation, this latter device may fail during use, allowing the bicycle to fall from the rack.